A first attempt to create an economic and monetary union between the members of the European Communities goes back to an initiative by the European Commission in 1969. However, the introduction of the euro started principally on 31 December 1998, when the exchange rates between the euro and legacy currencies in the Eurozone became fixed.

The coin shows a stick figure which merges into the € symbol. It seeks to convey the idea of the single currency and, by extension, Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) being the latest step in Europe’s long history of trade and economic integration. The design was chosen out of a shortlist of five by members of the public across the European Union voting online. It was created by George Stamatopoulos, a sculptor from the Minting department at the Bank of Greece.